Bird's-eye view
In this section of Joshua, we are in the midst of the divine accounting, the formal distribution of the Promised Land. The battles are largely won, the heads of the enemy kingdoms have been taken, and now the time has come for God to distribute the spoils to His people, according to His own sovereign will. This is not a land rush or a first-come, first-served affair; it is a careful, deliberate allotment of inheritance. These verses specifically detail the portion given to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan. This is a fulfillment of promises made and a demonstration of God's faithfulness to His covenant people, down to the specific clans and families. The mention of Og's former kingdom is a potent reminder that this inheritance is given on the foundation of God's mighty acts of judgment against His enemies. Israel is not inheriting vacant land, but land that has been cleansed by divine conquest. Every border and every city named is a testament to the fact that God keeps His word and establishes His people in their designated place.
The overarching theme here is God's meticulous care in fulfilling His covenant promises. The land is a gift, a grace, but it is distributed with order and precision. This is not just real estate; it is a theological statement. It is the tangible expression of God's favor and the foundation for Israel's life as a holy nation. The details matter because God is a God of details. He knows His people by name, by tribe, and by family, and He provides for them accordingly. This careful allotment is a type, a foreshadowing of the inheritance that is ours in Christ, which is also secured by conquest and distributed by grace.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Distribution of Inheritance (Josh 13:29-31)
- a. The Grant to the Half-Tribe of Manasseh (Josh 13:29)
- b. The Boundaries and Cities of the Inheritance (Josh 13:30)
- c. The Allotment to the Machirites (Josh 13:31)
Context In Joshua
Joshua 13 marks a significant transition in the book. The first twelve chapters are primarily concerned with the conquest of the land west of the Jordan. Chapter 12 provides a summary list of the defeated kings, a "trophy room" of God's victories. With chapter 13, the narrative shifts from conquest to allocation. God informs Joshua that while there is still land to be possessed, the time has come to divide the inheritance among the tribes. The chapter begins by detailing the lands that remain to be taken and then proceeds to describe the inheritance of the two-and-a-half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) who had requested their portion on the east side of the Jordan River. Our text falls squarely within this section, providing the specifics for Manasseh's eastern allotment. This distribution is the logical and covenantal outcome of the conquest. God conquered the land for His people, and now He gives it to them, demonstrating that His purpose was not merely judgment on the Canaanites but the establishment of His own redeemed people in a place of their own.
Key Issues
- The Faithfulness of God in Promise-Keeping
- The Nature of Covenantal Inheritance
- The Significance of Tribal and Family Lines
- The Theological Meaning of Land
- The Conquest as a Foundation for Inheritance
Inheritance by Conquest
It is crucial that we understand the relationship between God's gift and Israel's reception of it. The land is repeatedly called an "inheritance." An inheritance is not something you earn through your own labor in the way you earn a wage. It is given to you based on your relationship to the one who bestows it; it is a matter of sonship. Israel receives the land because they are God's covenant children. However, this inheritance had to be taken. It was possessed by God's enemies, and it had to be wrested from them through holy war.
This is the pattern of the Christian life. We have been given a glorious inheritance in Christ (Eph 1:11), but we are called to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim 6:12). The kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matt 11:12). The land given to Manasseh was not empty; it was "the kingdom of Og king of Bashan." Og was a giant, a remnant of the Rephaim, a picture of monstrous, entrenched evil. God had to defeat him before Manasseh could possess the land. In the same way, Christ, our greater Joshua, had to crush the head of the serpent, defeating sin, death, and the devil, before we could enter into our inheritance. The distribution of the land here in Joshua 13 is the direct result of the victories recorded earlier. Our spiritual inheritance is the direct result of the victory Christ won at the cross and the empty tomb.
Verse by Verse Commentary
29 Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families.
The text begins by establishing the authority behind this grant. It was Moses who gave it. Though Joshua is now leading, the initial arrangements for the Transjordanian tribes were made under Moses' leadership (Numbers 32). Joshua is faithfully executing the plan that God had already established. This provides continuity and shows that the plan of God is not dependent on any single human leader. The inheritance is given to the "half-tribe" of Manasseh, a curious but important designation. Manasseh, Joseph's firstborn, was a large and powerful tribe, and their inheritance would straddle the Jordan River. This grant is specifically for those "according to their families." God's covenant dealings are not with a nebulous mass of individuals, but with a people structured by families and clans. The family is the basic unit of the covenant community, and the inheritance is distributed with this divine structure in mind. This is a profoundly patriarchal arrangement, where the blessings of God flow down through the appointed family lines.
30 And their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all of the Havvoth-jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities;
Here we get the geographical specifics. The territory is defined, starting from Mahanaim, a place with a rich history going back to Jacob. But the most significant descriptor is "all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan." This is conquered territory. Bashan was known for its fertility and its mighty oaks, a truly desirable piece of land. But it was ruled by Og, a fearsome king whose defeat was one of the signal victories of the Lord on Israel's behalf (Deut 3:1-11). To grant them "all the kingdom of Og" was to give them the spoils of a great victory. It was a constant, tangible reminder that their peace and prosperity were purchased by the Lord's destruction of their enemies. The mention of "Havvoth-jair," or the towns of Jair, refers to the settlements captured by a descendant of Manasseh (Num 32:41), showing the initiative of the people working in concert with the mighty acts of God. The number "sixty cities" emphasizes the scale of the victory and the richness of the inheritance. This was not a small plot of land; it was a kingdom.
31 also half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.
The description is further refined. Not only do they get Bashan, but also "half of Gilead," another famously fertile region. The two principal cities of Og's kingdom, Ashtaroth and Edrei, are explicitly named. These were the centers of Og's power, and now they belong to the people of God. This is a complete dispossession of the enemy. The inheritance is then specified for a particular branch of Manasseh: "the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh." Machir was Manasseh's firstborn, and his descendants were known for being men of war (Josh 17:1). It is fitting that these warriors would inherit the land that had been the seat of a mighty enemy king. God equips His people for the task He sets before them and rewards their faithfulness. The grant is made to "half of the sons of Machir," again showing the detailed nature of God's accounting. He is not painting with a broad brush. He is assigning specific territories to specific families, demonstrating His intimate knowledge of and care for His people. Every family had its place in the Lord's design.
Application
The detailed lists of land allotments in Joshua can seem tedious to the modern reader, but they are brimming with theological truth. First, they teach us that God is faithful. He made a promise to Abraham hundreds of years earlier that his descendants would inherit this land, and here we see that promise being fulfilled in meticulous detail. Our God is a God who keeps His word, and we can rest in His promises to us in Christ with the same certainty.
Second, this passage reminds us that our inheritance is secured by conquest. Manasseh inherited the kingdom of Og. We inherit a kingdom that Christ seized from the domain of darkness. We must never forget that our spiritual peace and security were won at a great cost. Christ fought the ultimate giant on our behalf and was victorious. We live in the territory He conquered.
Finally, the distribution "according to their families" should remind us of the corporate and familial nature of our faith. We are not saved as isolated individuals who are then thrown together into a group called "church." We are saved into a family, the household of God. God has a specific place and a specific role for each of us within that covenant body. Just as the sons of Machir had their designated portion, so we have been given spiritual gifts and callings to be used for the good of the whole body. We have a place to stand, a job to do, and an inheritance to enjoy, all by the grace of God, distributed to us by our victorious King.